BIG news from Seattle~ we can see the streets and sidewalks once again! Yes we witnessed and survived (barely) the freak of nature snowstorm that hit us big time and gave Seattle multiple headlines on the news stations across the country. Yesterday was the first day in a week and a half that I drove my car; such amenity that we take for granted everyday but something that I had missed in my week and a half of doing everything on foot! I cannot complain about not being rest and relaxed-what else could I do inside? You can quiz me on any guest that was on the talk show circuit, or where John and Kate Plus 8 took their kids on vacation, or about the marathon session of "What Not To Wear." Yes the snow allowed my to indulge in my quilty pleasure of TLC and HGTV but a girl can only take so much! Our big excitement prior to Christmas was the day we bought a shovel-yes a shovel. The broom just wasn't cutting it anymore and Joe had spent too many mornings getting stuck in the driveway trying to get to work. I have never been so happy to shovel snow in all my life! How the weather made me see the little things I take for granted.
We did miss our family and friends over Christmas. Joe kept busy working at Blockbuster so I was in charge of Christmas dinner. We decided to have seafood from the market as a toast to our first Christmas on the Puget Sound. I admit to getting a tad excited with the thought of carrying through a real meal that took research from cookbooks and more than 20 minutes to prepare. My excitement bubble was quickly burst when I read the word "juliene" and had no idea what it meant. Further into my cooking, a call to my father to see how to get lobster meat out of the tail took the rest of the air out of my bubble and I was left frustrated and sweaty from the oven and every burner on the stove going. It pained me to cut through the tail and little legs of the already dead lobster. He could feel no pain and yet I felt as though I should spare the little guy and make tofu bisque instead. I persevered and learned about the kitchen tools I never knew we had and made my own improvision as to what "juliene" could mean. Two and a half hours later (and a couple glasses of wine) I displayed my cooking creation. Joe was pleased and said it tasted good. I sat at the table thinking there were two and a half hours that I could never get back of my life and that this dinner fulfilled my domestic duties in the kitchen well into the new year. Our day came and went and although we received many wonderful gifts and talked to lots of family and friends, it felt a little anticlimatic. Distance is definitely felt most at the holidays.
Since mother nature has given us a reprieve from our winter wonderland, Joe and I are going to celebrate New Year's in Portland. We decided it was a good opportunity to explore someplace new and who doesn't like a night in a hotel where you can leave the bed unmade and towels on the floor and know someone will clean up after you?
Sending Happy New Year wishes and hugs for 2009!